


Lunar Eclipse

by odiko_ptino



Series: Featured Character: Artemis [4]
Category: Greek and Roman Mythology
Genre: Blood moon, F/F, Gen, Lunar Eclipse, based on ancient myths
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-17
Updated: 2018-12-17
Packaged: 2019-09-20 22:13:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17030949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/odiko_ptino/pseuds/odiko_ptino
Summary: Siproites saves the moon from a witch.





	Lunar Eclipse

“Yeah, she’s cute,” Artemis says, leaning back into the pool with a sigh.  “I’m trying to find the right occasion for it.  She’s a little naïve; I don’t want to push her into something she’s not ready for.  Not to mention she’s probably still feeling her way around her new body.  Heh.  ‘So to speak.’”

At this remark, Selene’s small smile lifts almost imperceptibly at one corner.  “You have your father’s wit.”

“Hey!”

“But I’m glad to see you have more delicacy than he does in these matters.  It’s always worth being patient with the shy ones, and I know he has difficulty discerning this.  With others, I mean.  For my part, of course, I was quite eager to try out his – ”

Artemis groans. “DON’T FINISH THAT SENTENCE. Whatever gross thing you did with Zeus, I don’t wanna hear about it!”

“I only keep bringing it up because you always make that entertaining face.”  Selene smiles a little wider and adjusts her soft white mantle, which is nearly glowing under the moonlight.

The celestial body tonight is not Selene, but Pandia, goddess of the full moon – Selene’s eldest daughter, the product of her wild courtship with Zeus, years ago.  Pandia is about the same age as Artemis; and when Selene fell in love with and married the shepherd Endymion, Pandia offered to drive the chariot once a month, on the full moon, so that Selene could have another whole night to visit her dreaming husband.  

“Bleh.  You Titans got a weird sense of humor.”  Artemis takes a swig off the wineskin she brought with her. “…Not that I’m not glad to see you, but aren’t you supposed to be with Endy tonight?”

“Yes.  I will be going, soon – I like to see that Pandia got into the sky all right.  I know she’s done it before, but… well, a mother worries.  You know.”

This statement isn’t as cutting as it would be from someone else – Selene understands.  The hunters in Artemis’ retinue are like daughters to her; and sisters; and lovers sometimes.  They’re all different roles without contradiction.  Artemis smiles, thinking of her girls.  

“Yeah.  I know.  I worry about these kids all the time.  Actually, Callisto – ”

“What the hell,” Selene interrupts, voice taking on a quiet but cold tone that Artemis has never heard before.  “…is  _that_.”

Artemis looks over; Selene is looking up at the sky.  Feeling a rise of dread, Artemis looks too – the full moon is deep red.  A shadow moves across it, and in a short moment, the moon is gone.  Pandia has vanished.

——-

Of course, Siproites has seen Lady Selene before.  Everyone has, really, as long as they can see at all: in a way, Lady Selene is about 50% omnipresent.  She’s in the sky, night after night, driving her moon chariot across the heavens, casting soft light over the earth below.  And Selene has a regular presence in the Grove, though she’s mostly there to see Artemis. So, even if she hasn’t had occasion to speak to Lady Selene, Siproites has seen her many times.

Never while the Titaness was bearing a weapon and a grimly fierce expression on her normally placid face, though.

The weapons and grim expressions are matched by the couple dozen women gathered around in the glade. Lady Artemis has summoned all of her retinue and announced that they are searching for Pandia, goddess of the full moon.

Everyone… except Siproites.

“You must stay behind, my sweet,” Artemis says, kind but distracted.  “Whoever kidnapped Pandia is certainly dangerous and strong.  You’re still a little clumsy and inexperienced with a bow.”

She takes the sting out of the words with a kiss to Siproites’ forehead.  “I could never live knowing I’d let my sweetest girl charge into danger.  There will be other times for you to join us.”

Siproites disagrees – she has gotten much better at archery, and fairly adept at making her way through the wilderness, after months of practice – but she knows better than to argue with Lady Artemis even in the best of circumstances, let alone now, when she’s strained as she is.

So she watches, disappointed, as all the nymphs and mortal hunters take their instructions from Artemis and depart.  Artemis and Selene leave last, in a shimmering of cold pale light, and Siproites is left alone with her pig (she’s once named him Apollo Jr, given that she thinks him the most handsome of pigs; but hastily renamed him to Charopos – “Cheery Boy” – after Apollo himself objected).

“I suppose I should be grateful that she cares so much about me,” Siproites says to Cheery, glumly, tossing him bits of apple and watching him snuffle around for it.  “And… it’s true, there will be other chances for me to prove I’m better than she thinks I am.  This isn’t the right time for it… right, Cheery?”

Cheery grunts; perhaps agreeing, and perhaps just commenting on the ripeness of the apple.  

Siproites sighs.  “I’m surprised none of them thought to ask King Zeus for help, though.  Pandia is his daughter, too…”

She brightens up.  “Oh – perhaps I could get a message to him somehow! He’d be a big help, I’m sure, he could send Hermes to look for her and – ”

“No, that would be inadvisable,” comes a woman’s voice, from – up above Sippy?  In the tree??  

She looks up and sees an exceptionally large female hawk, staring directly at her, which is about as clear a sign Siproites needs that it isn’t a real bird – even aside from the obvious fact that hawks don’t normally muck about at night.  But it doesn’t tell her who the hawk really is.  The eyes appear to be lavender, though… Siproites tries to remember who has lavender eyes…

“Er…” she begins uncertainly.  The hawk tilts its head.

“You’re Siproites, correct? The newest of Artemis’ virgins. I’m glad you’re here.”

Siproites stands. That voice is familiar.  “Y-yes… I’m Siproites.  May I ask, who are you…?”

The hawk sighs irritably – another unhawklike thing to do – but dips her head.  “I am Hera.  Now – ”

“Oh!”  Siproites flings herself down to her knees, respectfully. “Queen Hera!  I am sorry for not addressing you properly!”

“Silly girl, get up. I hadn’t exactly announced myself. We must hurry.”

Siproites gets back to her feet.  “Hurry, my queen?”

“Yes.  This nonsense with Pandia is already getting out of hand; it can only get worse if someone doesn’t intervene.”

“My queen, should we not… call back Lady Artemis or Lady Selene?  I’m happy to serve, but I was asked to stay – ”

“No.  Listen, my dear, this situation requires a bit of discretion. Can I rely on you for this?”

Siproites is starting to feel a little uncertain.  “My queen… what has happened?  I don’t understand.”

The Hera-hawk ruffles her feathers, and Siproites senses she’s suppressing impatience.  “A regrettable and bothersome cascading of actions.  I am attempting to do something… complicated. You may not have heard of the hero Jason; he is adventuring far to the west of here.  I am his patron.  In order to aid him in his adventure… well, as I have said, it is complicated.  But one of my agents has decided that the best way to render him assistance was to ‘draw down the moon’, for use in a magic spell.”

Siproites gasps.  “A witch has Pandia?!”

“Yes.  You needn’t fear for her; this is not Erichtho or anyone similarly dire.  Medea can be reasoned with, and in fact I think she will be quite open to suggestions, as I don’t believe she expected to drag the actual moon down from the sky. Had it been Selene in the sky, she surely wouldn’t have been able.  But Pandia is no Titan, and now Medea finds herself holding a goddess hostage.  The girl is too powerful,” Hera adds, as though to herself.  “That will need to be dealt with as well, somehow.  But one thing at a time; we must get Pandia back into the sky swiftly, before Artemis and Selene discover what has happened and turn against Jason.”

“My queen – I am happy to serve, but – couldn’t you just take her…?”

“I cannot be seen to be directly involved in this, Siproites,” Hera says fervently.  “If Artemis finds out I was even  _indirectly_  involved, there will be consequences. And if Zeus finds out…”

“…He’ll be angry?” Siproites asks, throat dry.

“No, he’ll be an insufferable prick about it,” Hera says flatly.  “Unbearably smug for years to come; and he will probably figure out what I’m trying to accomplish, which would be even worse.  But for you, Siproites, I would think it motivation enough to assist your mistress with getting her half-sister back?”

“Oh – well, yes, of course I want to help – ”

“Excellent.  Then please climb atop my back.  We have to hurry.”

—————-

“Speak, nymph; why have you come here?!”

The woman – surprisingly, she looks to be about Siproites’ age – is wielding a knife, but holds off on stabbing Siproites with it.  Sippy doesn’t cut a particularly menacing figure, evidently.

Siproites thinks she could hold her own; but she’d rather not fight, so she holds out her hands placatingly.  “Are you Medea?  I’m only the nymph Siproites.  I’ve come to retrieve Pandia; nothing more.  No one knows I’m here.”

Medea hesitates a moment more before gesturing her inside.  “Praise to Hecate,” she mutters.

_Praise to Hera, really_ , Siproites thinks but doesn’t say.

Hera had flown her across a stretch of sea, which was not as exhilarating as Siproites might have thought – there wasn’t much to see.  The sky was dark without Pandia; the sea was even darker.  The queen of the gods had set her down on an island called Colchis and directed her to the small hut where Medea could be found.  

Like Hera had intimated, Medea looks frazzled and stressed.  Her spell was only supposed to drain power from the moon, calling upon its energy – not to drag the actual moon down to this island.

So Medea explains, gesturing in bewilderment at the tall, regal, faintly glowing girl seated in a chair in the hut.

Siproites rushes over to her.  “Lady Pandia! I’m glad to see you’re safe!”

Pandia clasps her hands, politely, but looks nonplussed by all of this.  “Er – you’re – one of the nymphs, right?”  

“Yes, lady, Siproites,” she replies modestly, bowing.  “I was sent to fetch you.”

“Oh!  Mother or Arty have already been looking for me?  As I thought they might,” she says, casting a significant glance at the witch.  Medea groans.

“Ah, well, actually… it was someone else.  Someone… who is trying to avoid war among the gods,” Siproites says, pleased with her discretion and diplomacy.

“Hera, then,” Medea says sullenly.

“Oh – uh, n-no, why would you – ”

“She’s Jason’s patron on this adventure of his.  It stands to reason that she wouldn’t want Artemis, Selene, or anyone else involved. So, she wants to be discreet, and hide her involvement in this whole mess, and let me take the hit for it!” Medea speaks very casually of the gods, with an irreverence that Siproites wouldn’t dare imitate.  

Pandia has raised her eyebrows at this disrespect as well.  “ _Queen_ Hera may have chosen to involve you in Jason’s quest, but she certainly didn’t compel you to try to steal power from the moon… or to kidnap the moon, for that matter.”

“What were you even trying to do with Lady Pandia, anyway?” Siproites wants to know.  She spent most of that flight across the sea wondering what possible thing you could accomplish with the moon.

“Oh, well.  My love – Jason – he needs to get the golden fleece, and the Dragon guards it,” Medea says, cheeks coloring as she says the hero’s name.  “This spell will help kill it.  Should still do that, even if I ended up with more than I wanted.”

Pandia looks startled. “The dragon of Colchis?  That’s – Lord Ares’ dragon!”

Siproites goes cold as Pandia continues.

“Forget about Artemis – if you kill that dragon, Lord Ares is going to come after you!  Are you just trying to piss off the entire Pantheon??”

Medea snorts dismissively. “Athena’s backing the quest as well. Between her and Hera, I don’t think we’ll have need to fear  _Ares_.”

“But you’re not worried about a possible battle involving Queen Hera, Lady Athena, Lord Ares, Lady Artemis, and my mother?”

Medea looks agitated again. “That was not part of the plan. The spell should never have done that. And now I have no idea how I’m going to get you back up into the damned sky!”

“Oh!  I know how to do that,” Siproites says cheerfully.

Medea and Pandia both stare at her.  “Why the hell didn’t you lead with that?!” Medea cries.

Siproites gives her a cool look.  “Well, we have to make sure we have our story straight first.”  She hadn’t been sure how to convince Lady Pandia to keep the whole incident a secret, but she thinks she knows now.  “Lady Pandia.  Of course you are less concerned than Medea or myself about a war among the gods… but please.  Consider this.  You’re friends with Lady Artemis – and she’s friends with Lord Ares.  She’s fond of his dragons too; and I know she’ll be upset if this dragon gets killed.”

Pandia’s mouth quirks. “She certainly would.  But how can we prevent that from happening?” she asks, as though she already knows the answer.

Siproites looks back at Medea.  “You need to find another way to get that fleece.  Find a way to sneak past the dragon, or put it to sleep.  I don’t care how, but that dragon will be unharmed, or I’ll tell Lady Artemis and Lady Selene about the whole thing.”

Medea looks furious and relieved at the same time.  “You’re a bold little brat, I’ll grant you that,” she mutters.  “If this damned spell hadn’t backfired so spectacularly…”

Pandia stands up.  “But it did, and this is the best possible outcome you’ll get,” she says.  “I agree to those terms.  I have no wish to see Lady Artemis sorrowed over the loss of one of those dragons.  Put the thing to sleep instead, and don’t ever try this stunt again, and I’ll never breathe a word of your involvement.”

“Fine.  Wonderful,” Medea glances at her cauldron.  “I need to start now.  My beloved Jason goes to confront the beast in the morning.”

“We’ll be on our way, then,” Pandia says, taking Siproites’ hand.  They both pause, waiting to see if Medea’s going to say or do anything more; but the witch is already pawing through a collection of herbs and vials, muttering to herself.

They leave with no further hindrances.

“That witch is far too powerful,” Pandia says, as they walk towards the beach.  

“Yes, that’s what He- uh, what my… informant… said…”

Pandia giggles. “You’re pretty good at diplomacy, Siproites!  I really have to thank you.  I didn’t know how we were going to resolve that.”

Siproites beams.  “I’m happy it turned out so well!  I didn’t think it would go so smoothly, but I guess Medea really didn’t want to get involved in a war among the goddesses.”

“No one would!”

They reach the shore and stare up at the dark sky.  “Now, you did say you had a plan…” Pandia says doubtfully.

“Yes.”  Siproites brings out her bow and a single gleaming arrow, made of willow and fletched with the petals of the lotus.  The sacred plants of Hera.  “We’ll tie a length of cord to this arrow, and to your wrist.  It will carry you back into the sky.”

Pandia looks at her in disbelief.  “Are… are you sure that will work?”

“Yes!  It’s a good arrow, and I’m a pretty good shot.  I’ve been practicing a lot!”

Pandia looks at the arrow, and at Siproites, and back up at the sky.  She sighs.  “Well – it’s worth a shot, I guess.  Heh. Pardon the pun.”

They tie the cord, but before Siproites can get into position, Pandia abruptly hugs her, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

“I’ll send Artemis to come get you.  Thank you again, so much,” she says.

Siproites is blushing furiously, and glad that the night is so dark.  “I’m just happy to help, Lady Pandia,” she replies.

She aims her bow for the dark patch in the sky, where Lady Pandia’s chariot was last seen.  She aligns her body to that patch of sky… pulls the string back until she can feel it touch her cheek (where Pandia had kissed her, as it happens)… and allows her fingers to relax, releasing the arrow.  

As Hera had promised, the arrow and Pandia both fly into the sky – a silver streak, shooting into the darkness.  There is an anxious minute where nothing appears to change – and then, finally, the moon reappears in the sky, full and bright as ever.  

————–

It’s not long afterwards that Artemis and Selene come to find Siproites where she’s been waiting on the beach in Colchis.  

Artemis scoops her up in an enormous hug, spinning her around.  “SIPPY!!  We heard all about it!!”

“Eeeeekk, Lady Ahhartemis!!” Siproites squeals, clutching at the goddess, unable to stop from giggling.

“Yes, Pandia told us that you found her in the ocean and contrived to… shoot her back into the sky, somehow,” Selene says, approaching more sedately.  Her tone indicates that she doesn’t quite believe this story, but for the moment, she says nothing more about it.

“Can’t believe you were sandbagging this whole time.  You were a damn hero all along, you little brat!” Artemis is delighted, tickling Siproites and making her laugh.  “Guess we underestimated you!”

“I wasn’t sandbagging! I  _told_  you, Lady!” Siproites giggles again, swatting Artemis’ hands away.

“Yup, you sure did. Sneaky little badass.”  Artemis’ voice is proud and it’s making Siproites’ heart swell like it hasn’t before, not even since she was first welcomed into the Grove.  It’s like her acceptance has been made final, somehow.

And sealed with a kiss, no less – once Artemis has stilled, Selene places light fingers under Siproites’ chin and tilts her face up.  “I thank you for this service, Siproites,” she says, her voice soft and melodic, before giving Siproites a small kiss.

Artemis does the same, leaving Siproites looking flushed, surprised, and pleased.  Artemis grins.  

“You did very well, sweet girl.  We’ll have to come up with a good way to thank you properly.”  She hoists Siproites up to her shoulders and points east. “What a long damn night.  Let’s get back home.”


End file.
